Correspondents

Aug 28, 2001

‘This is Sill-vee-yah Poh-DJOH-lee’ — It’s good to see that I’m not alone in worshipping the way NPR Rome correspondent Sylvia Poggioli says her name each time she signs off a report. She’s a marvelous reporter.

There’s another voice I respect, but I haven’t heard it in some time: Alistair Cooke, who gives the BBC World Service the weekly Letter From America, is an amazing journalist.

I came across a biography of Cooke in a rambling used bookstore in Chapel Hill yesterday, and I thought back to nights on Paama, when after dinner and a shower I’d pour a small glass of port, fall into the sling chair next to the shortwave radio, and tune in BBC to listen to Letter From America.

It was Cooke’s perspective that informed me about the Clinton-Lewinsky saga back home. I was glad to be where I was. And I’m glad today that Poggioli reports on the conflicts in the Balkans. New from the other side is important, and radio is crucial to disseminating that news.

Anton Zuiker ☄